Gothic Chair Styles

The Gothic era extended from approximately 1150 to 1500 and was named after the Goths, barbarians from the northern countries who raided and ransacked towns and villages in central Europe. Gothic art began and ended in the church, and furniture that originated in the era evolved from simple, hardy, rough-hewn pieces to the pointed arches, buttresses, moldings and pillars found in Gothic revival furniture of the past few centuries. Gothic chairs were introduced late in the era. A medieval home usually had only one chair, and that was for the master, or feudal lord. It was made of oak, and evolved through the centuries from a simple, large and heavy chair into an intricate piece of art carved with gargoyles, rosettes, flowers, vines and leaves.

12th-Century Gothic Chairs
- Stools and benches were the most widely used seating pieces in the Gothic era's 1100s. If a chair existed in a Gothic manor, it was rectangular, with a low back and legs continuing up to the arms. It may also have been circular, with the back encircling the seat and placed at the same height as the arm rests. The chairs were made of rough-hewn oak and reflected a simpler Gothic design.
13th-Century Gothic Chairs
- Seating advanced in the 13th century with chair seats in a polygonal shape. They were covered with tooled leather upholstery and stuffed with horsehair. Some chairs had the Emperor shape, with wood criss-crossing in an x-shape to form a central seat. The wood was usually oak and roughly hewn. No ornamentation was added.
14th-Century Gothic Chairs
- By the 14th century, chairs began to be used more frequently. They were heavier and larger than their predecessors, and some had canopies covered in brightly colored fabrics to evoke royal thrones. The architectural influences of tracery, pointed arches and intricately carved human figures and flowers began to appear as carvings on the chairs. It is this era of the Gothic period that became popular in the revivalist periods. The Coronation Chair of King Edward I (1296-1300), found in Westminster Abbey, is an example of the transition of Gothic chair styles. Solidly built, it features a gabled back flanked by two pinnacles. Under the seat and viewed through two quatrefoils on each side panel is the Biblical Coronation Stone.
Gothic Revivalist Chairs
- In the 1700s, the Gothic period returned in furniture design in England, and by the early 1900s was popular in the United States. Victorian chairs were ornately carved, echoing the intricacy of the original Gothic period. The style has reappeared in the 21st century and oversized, ornate and heavily carved chairs are once again seen in homes. Original oak has given way to laminates and veneers, and the carving is more rudimentary and without the hand-carved touch.

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Chairs

Gothic Chair Styles

12th-Century Gothic Chairs

13th-Century Gothic Chairs

14th-Century Gothic Chairs

Gothic Revivalist Chairs